Noticed this item today in the online “Advertising Age”…
“Subway keeps trying to get off its diet of Jared, but it just can’t quit him.
Like him or hate him (love surely isn’t an option), the seemingly ubiquitous sandwich-chain spokesman who lost 245 pounds on a diet of heroes is now notching his 10th year with the chain”
The article goes on to talk about how the character remains enormously popular and, most importantly, continues to pull in sales for the company.
The article also talks about how Jared has outlasted four ad agencies and several attempts to get rid of him. Every time Jared has been dropped (at the behest of an ad agency wanting to try something new) he’s been brought back to revive sales.
This is a wonderful example of a company and ad agencies getting tired of advertising before the customers do. It’s mainly the fault of the ad agencies, in my opinion, because rather than focus on what works, they’re more interested in being “creative” and trying something new.
Now, as a writer I have some sympathy for the creatives. I often find when I’m writing, particularly for a client I’ve written for before, that I feel obliged to try something different. But you know what? Most times I end up going back to the tried and true stuff that I know works.
I accept that you need to try new things to see if you can improve. That’s where testing comes in to maintain the integrity and the scientific basis. And that’s the great strength of Direct Response Marketing, of course. You can measure the results and you know objectively what works and what does not.
At the end of the day, results are what matters. And that’s why Jared is still fronting for Subway. Great campaigns can last a very long time. Think of the “Marlboro Man” ads. So make sure you don’t end a winning campaign too soon. The time to change is when the advertising stops producing sales and you find something more effective.
That is, when the customers tell you to change, not the ad agency.